Even though everyone aspires to play the hero in an Indian movie, playing a villain or a negative role can be a more difficult task acting-wise. Think of the classic Indian movies, many of them have memorable villains, whether it’s the legendary Amrish Puri with his baritone voice and slick dialogues or Gulshan Grover in his diverse roles. What people fail to realise is that it takes a lot of work to portray such personalities, and they are oblivious of the effort involved. In addition, viewers and filmmakers tend to typecast such actors exclusively into that position. In a recent interview with Jay-Ho! The Jay Kumar Show, Deepak Tijori discussed his role as an antagonist, as well as his preparation for the St. Anne’s cycling squad in Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar, his goal to escape typecasting, the creation of his films, and more.
Audience reaction on Deepak’s negative role
While speaking with host Jay Kumar, Deepak revealed that despite his negative role people admired him. He says, “We had arranged some shows in 1-2 cities when the movie Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar was about to be launched. For a show, we travelled to Delhi. Audiences in Delhi were therefore ecstatic during the movie’s climax. The public hooted and cheered for Shekhar Malhotra (Deepak Tijori) when he began to win the race. Shekhar Malhotra was adored by many people. The sight of this astonished Aamir Khan.”
The preparation for the movie
Deepak goes on to discuss how he prepared for the film. “Cycling was the only preparation I did for the movie,” he claims. I had a lot of stuff to learn. Thankfully, some of the actors who had to cycle in the movie were national champions. They trained me. I put in too much effort to learn how to ride a bike. Therefore, it required more physical effort than to perform the role. Additionally, filming in Ooty caused us a few difficulties.”
Deepak portrayed the role of an antagonist Shekhar Malhotra in Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar. However, playing a negative role could give the audience a negative impression. Deepak shared the same concern. He says, “Playing the wicked persona was the one concern I had, I did not want to go too far. I didn’t want to be a Gulshan Grover. I aimed to maintain the demeanour, disposition, and style that others should find appealing in me.”
Although Deepak has had a successful acting career thus far, he was never considered to play a movie’s leading man. Deepak was unhappy that he was beginning to be typecast. The film industry was something he wanted to explore further. As a result, Deepak made the choice to embark on a career in filmmaking. Deepak Tijori will soon be seen acting in some projects, following stellar performances in films and a strong background in production and direction. He talked about his upcoming projects. To listen to the entire conversation and learn more about Deepak and his career, stay tuned to Jay-Ho! The Jay Kumar Show.
